Rural amerikkuh deserves the blame for the coming apocalypse

[lindysalsagal]

Every potus appointee from energy to ecology to education to banking was hired to render the scorched-earth results they're already known for.

When we're at the bottom of the well, if the internet still survives, we must remember that it was rural america who got us here, and left us to die.

I'm not being sarcastic.

[Skidmore]

1. Way to go with

that outreach stuff.

[DetlefK]

3. Seriously. Why even bother with an outreach?

They are convinced that they are being discriminated against and that the Democrats and the liberals and the big-city-people and Wall Street and all the other sinners have it out for them.

What could the Democrats possibly tell them to convince them that a government that takes care of people is not the same as Communism?
Or that Obama isn't a secret Muslim and that Hillary Clinton isn't running a pedophile-ring from a pizzeria.

Why should the Democrats bother with trying to win over the 27% of people who voted for Trump, when 40% didn't vote at all?

[SammyWinstonJack]

6. +1

[Va Lefty]

15. If you want to "reach out" to these voters...

I suggest going to the nearest brick wall and trying to dislodge it with your head instead.

You have a greater chance of success, and the headache won’t be nearly as severe.

[Historic NY]

16. Look they were convinced of this bullshit decades ago.............

"What's the Matter with What's the Matter with Kansas"

https://my.vanderbilt.edu/larrybartels/files/2011/12/kansas_Bartles.pdf

[secondwind]

35. Maybe that 40% will open its eyes now, and see what happens when you don't vote..

[workinclasszero]

65. Its that 40% we have to reach and get to the polls

The rascist nazis that voted for Dumpf are far beyond reason, they have their own sick "reality" and are never going to change it.

They voted to cut their own throats as Dump is proving by his cabinet picks. Let them suffer the effects of their own stupidity.

[leftofcool]

41. You nailed it!

I refuse to try to win over anyone who voted for Trump and I certainly refuse to "outreach" to a bunch of racists. The "new faces" of the Democratic Party can just carry on hawking their books and fighting over who will be the new head of the DNC. I will be following good Democrats like Obama and Hillary and supporting their causes.

[aquamarina]

47. Full agreement with this and to everyone who also replied to your reply.

I am done trying to talk sense to people too stupid to admit the sky is blue.

[madokie]

57. Thanksgiving/christmas dinner is coming up

We are a big ass family. They'll be 150 adults, kids, grand kids and great grand kids, nieces, nephews all there. One of my brothers bought the property that was part of our home place until another brother sold off his house and couple acres 20 or so years ago. In the mean time the new owners built a big 40x50 ft building, insulated and all for some reason but anyway my brother who bought it built a kitchen, bathroom and put in rows upon rows of tables and thats where we have our get togethers now. Used to rent the community building in town for this but no more. Anyways we have an unstated rule no religion and no politics, agree to disagree but I still dread this year cause I know that many of them voted against that 'Woman' or more like that 'Broad' as some say.

I gave up a long time ago on trying to educate any of them

They would have all voted for Bernie if he would have been our nominee. I'm 100% sure of that. Thats the mistake made this year
my apologies if by stating the obvious it hurt anyones feelings or broke any rules.

In the primary all 77 counties in oklahoma went for Bernie Sanders. Every single one and by big margins too.

[mountain grammy]

64. Exactly!

[Yo_Mama]

84. The suburbs voted for Trump too. You want to throw them out as well?

This isn't going to be the big-tent party when you get through with it!

Exit polls:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/11/08/us/politics/election-exit-polls.html?_r=0

Suburbs voted 50/45% in Trump's favor.
Rural/small city voted 62/34% in Trump's favor.

City over 50K voted 59/35% in Clinton's favor.
In every area that went for Trump, there were a lot of Clinton voters. Your tactic would just piss those people off.

[uponit7771]

12. Accepting racism isn't outreach

[Skidmore]

17. Many rural people

are not racists and you find racists in urban areas too. Consider.

[uponit7771]

19. Overt Strawman, never said they were I said ACCEPTING it isn't outreach to people like me...

... is antagonistic at best

[ehrnst]

24. Outreach to white people upset by a black president for 8 years? (nt)

[ehrnst]

25. The GOP did a huge outreach to them. We got the tea party, and Drumpf. (nt)

[HughBeaumont]

32. They first need to understand themselves.

Trump can't cure what can't be cured.

[OldRedneck]

44. Who needs "outreach?"

Hillary won by over 2.5 million votes.

Democratic House candidates received more votes than Republicans. Problem is, districts are gerrymandered to provide Republicans with safe seats.

[jabbothedog]

88. side effect of who wins state elections

Doesn't matter if Hillary won by over 25 million votes if they were all in Democrat stronghold states.

GOP has been winning more statehouse seats and more governorships, which means they control redistricting every 10 years. We're no reaping the fruits of the 2010 census. If Democrats can't start winning nationwide again at the state level (like they just did in NC), it will get worse. If it doesn't get turned around, the GOP will have the House locked up, and since there are now more "red" states, they could lock up the Senate, too. Which means even if Democrats get another great messenger (like Bill Clinton or Barack Obama) who can win over working class whites and thus the electoral vote, they will be hamstrung by the GOP Congress.

[LonePirate]

45. I like to think of it as assigning accountability and responsibility.

[hatrack]

50. They can start reaching out to the rest of us . . .

. . . or they can go fuck themselves and wash down a handful of Oxy with a bottle of Jack. I pretty much don't give a damn either way anymore.

[Skittles]

81. THEY VOTED FOR A FUCKING CLOWN FOR PRESIDENT

time to give up on changing them and work on the people who fail to vote

[philosslayer]

90. Why outreach with a minority group?

And a shrinking minority group at that?

[we can do it]

97. Enough trying to reach those who refuse to learn.

[DetlefK]

2. Don't be so mean! They are hurting!!! The Democrats should coddle and cater them!!!!!

The 20% of voters who get glorified as the "real America", as opposed to the 80% who are just big-city elitists.
They are hurting!
They are hurting so much that they voted for a big-city billionaire with a track-record of fraud and sinful behavior.
They are hurting so much that they voted for the guy who promised to lower their wages and to take away their healthcare.
They are hurting so much that they voted for the guy who promised to let corporations poison their rivers and fields.



They are hurting!
And it had definitely nothing to do with hostility to women's and LGBT-rights.
And the anti-government hostility the GOP has cultivated for a decade.
And outright racism.
And the stalwart conviction that there must be some kind of Clinton-scandal. Something. Anything.
And it had nothing to do with Trump promising them to do away with "political correctness", aka "being wrong sometimes".

[smirkymonkey]

94. Fuck them. Just fuck them.

Let them hurt even more.

[TwilightZone]

4. It was more than rural America, sadly.

Rural America has been voting R for decades now - that was pretty much expected. Where the election really swung was on the people who usually vote who stayed home; the people who were sold on the concept of "both sides are bad"; the small percentage of Democrats and liberals and Obama voters who voted for Trump, knowing who he was and that this would be the result. The people who bought into the Comey e-mail nonsense. People who bought into fear and bigotry. People who decided to "send a message" or make meaningless protest votes.

And those people were everywhere. Certainly, turnout in rural areas was high and is a major factor, but there are lots of other factors, including our electoral strategy and late-cycle decision making, voter suppression, the Comey effect. I think trying to limit it to specific groups kind of misses the whole story. Trump needed a dozen things to go right to win via the EC and he needed a lot of help, some of it from unexpected places. Sadly, he got just enough.

[uponit7771]

14. The voter suppression was the biggest IMHO, its the one thing that was documented and could be

... tracked was the effect of the suppression efforts in the states projected to go HRC.

[TwilightZone]

22. They're targeted almost exclusively toward D areas...

which makes it pretty obvious. They don't even try to hide it anymore.

It's nothing new, of course - this is a decades-long, concerted effort by the GOP to counter the fact that they're losing the ideological and demographic battles.

That some on our side don't seem to acknowledge it as a factor somewhat perplexes me. It's apparently become so omnipresent that some don't even notice it anymore.

[ProgressIsLeft]

5. Hey I live in rural America, does that make a KKK member too?

People in rural America are really hurting. I see it on a daily basis here each and every day. Many I know didn't even bother to vote because they were so sick and tired of both candidates and many were sick of it all. You need to realize that in rural America, people feel like they've largely been ignored and for a long time. There's a huge opportunity to be seized here when you stop and look at it.

The largest issue is going to be guns. Many where I live hunt and use guns as a means for protection, not so much against people but against things like Grizzlies. The farms here though are really hurting and just because someone lives in rural America doesn't mean they are less than you. These people provide your food, your milk, your meat, each and every day. Think about that. They've been getting decimated for close to 35 years continuously. Do you remember John Mellancamp's song "Scarecrow"? Listen to it. Watch it. This was filmed in 1985. It hasn't changed one bit! People are still losing their farms.....and what is the problem? The same thing Bernie's been preaching about; banks.

[TwilightZone]

7. "The largest issue is going to be guns. "

No.

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2016/11/17/ignoring-all-evidence-nra-decides-gun-policy-determined-2016-presidential-election/214517

The largest issues, as evidenced by exit polls, were the economy, foreign policy (both won by Clinton), immigration and terrorism (both won by Trump).

If people you know didn't bother to vote, they either didn't care enough or weren't paying attention.

Both sides are bad is horseshit.

[ProgressIsLeft]

10. Yes.

Exit polls cover large swatches and aren't an exact science. Here in my neck of the woods, the gun issue is a biggie. This is a culture where kids are taught at a very young age how to shoot and how to hunt. It's part of every day life here. Now don't get me wrong, of course the economy is important, that's a given but when you get down to the nitty gritty, it really is guns. People live off the land here and they are scared to death of that changing.

If people you know didn't bother to vote, they either didn't care enough or weren't paying attention.

Wrong. People paid attention and they cared a lot. They don't feel represented by either side. As I said, there's a huge opportunity here for Dems. We need to seize that.

[blue neen]

28. You are correct.

It's the same where I live. Western PA. Gun culture is the prevailing religion.

[ProgressIsLeft]

29. Yup it is

and if it wasn't, Hillary wouldn't ran on that platform against Obama in 2008.

[world wide wally]

55. I suppose it's much easier to believe that Hillary is coming to get their guns while they

are bound to be attacked by terrorists than it is to believe that the Fraudmeister gives any kind of fuck about them at all.
Sorry, but my sympathy for "stupid by choice" doesn't run that deep.
As they would be more than self righteously tell you "God helps those who help themselves".
Trump is the one who tells them "Only I can fix it".
They "choose" to believe Trump.

[SammyWinstonJack]

8. tRump isn't the answer to their economic distress, they'll soon find that out.

He used them and they will be worse off because of their blind support.

[ProgressIsLeft]

11. He isn't here where I am, I can tell you that!

They didn't support him.

[greymattermom]

101. He will come to get their guns, right?

and it will be easy. In the name of gun safety, they have to take tests. And the tests will be designed to keep the poorly educated from passing. Trump knows those people will turn on him when the migrants come and when the remaining factory jobs are gone.

[treestar]

18. they are more than us, since their votes in the EC

and the Senate count heavier than ours do.

But they needed to try to help themselves, not get revenge on us. Electing Dumpster means they just tried to show us, that they are jealous of us.

And a lot of us are "hurting" and have been for decades! And will be when Dump messes everything up. Is their emotional revenge that important to them?

[ProgressIsLeft]

21. No revenge

that I'm seeing here, more like fatigue and no hope.

This thought bothers me;

But they needed to try to help themselves

No offense but that sounds like the whole libertarian thing of "pull up your boot straps".
How do you do that when everything your family has known for generations is foreclosed on? Your whole life, everything you were raised to do is gone in an instant? When the heartland goes, the rest of the country follows. We saw this in the past with the farm crises and what it did to the country during the Reagan years.

It isn't emotional revenge at all in my neck of the woods, it's more of "they don't give 2 shits about us and haven't in a long time".

[treestar]

23. What I meant was vote for someone who would help them

rather than getting revenge on us "elitists." And if they are suffering so bad, how are they the ones feeding us?

If they are conservative, too, then they are the ones who have been telling us to pull up our bootstraps, so why doesn't it apply to them? Why don't they retrain and get with the modern economy? That's what conservatives would say to us. But suddenly they are the ones "hurting" and the typical right wing hypocrisy sets in.

They do deserve to be told that because that's what they would have said to us.

And they make no attempt at understanding or compassion for us.

[ProgressIsLeft]

26. Because they don't see either helping them

They feel very forgotten. That's really what it is where I am.
Some are certainly conservatives but wow you should hear them talk about Trump lol It isn't pretty.

[treestar]

82. Heck their votes are worth more than ours

so how were they forgotten? Ours I mean to say liberal - I say this as one who comes from a small state and my vote counts for more than a New Yorker's, etc., but our states used our 3 votes for good.

But anyway they got our attention. We now have an orange President. And they are still going to be forgotten by him and probably get screwed. I would think next time they might use their higher powered votes for good and for the good of urban people too. There are urban poor who I am sure feel forgotten at times too.

[Bettie]

77. What I saw was a virulent hatred

for HRC, "liberals", Illegals, black, gay, and not-religious people. Oh, huge, violent hatred for President Obama too.

I did not realize how awful people in Iowa were until this election. I'm disgusted by many of the people I live near.

People who I thought were decent individuals have shown their true colors and they were not pretty.

[ProgressIsLeft]

86. Yup I know but that's because only the bad is covered

There's a lot of good too in rural America. Extremists are going to be extreme and the louder they are the more likely they are to be covered in the media.

[Bettie]

87. I'm talking about what I've seen in person from my neighbors

they are a bunch of really hateful people.

The more religious they are the more hate they expressed. It would seem that evangelical religion is pretty much all about hate these days.

[mwooldri]

42. So when the billionaire class is responsible for this mess...

... why did rural America then vote for the billionaires?

The billionaires that are going to come into office are even more removed from rural America than the present administration.

And I thought Turkeys don't vote for Thanksgiving.

[ProgressIsLeft]

46. Again, it's issues

See what I said above about guns.

[Bear Creek]

43. Churches

Are one of the biggest problems, they preach right wing propaganda with a few cherry picked verses from the pulpit. They get other people in the congregation to tell on members if they go to the wrong restaurant or movie. That god puts certain people in charge and you can not question them. That getting an education is evil it is for god to know and it is arrogance to be like god. Right wing Businessmen went around to all the churches to tell the people that Jimmy Carter was evil and that god wanted Ronald Reagan. I wish I could remember what the idiot's name was I just remember he had a potato chip company and when the church had a pot luck the cheap ass would bring a bag of his chips.
They also taught that the law of the land does not apply to them and that they are to fight the big bad government. So they think that their guns are going to deter the United States Armed Forces.
The FBI got that guy who kidnapped a child out of his bunker.

[ProgressIsLeft]

49. I sort of disagree with that

I think you're painting it with a very broad brush.

In my community, churches are an important factor of every day life and they don't preach hellfire and brimstone but instead are a pillar of the community and have been very active in helping people with things like heating costs and food. Is that bad? Of course not. Think of it this way; in inner cities it's the same scenario; AA churches vs old hellfire Baptist churches. These are not one in the same by any stretch.

Make no mistake that places like what you mentioned do exist but there's good churches too. We have to be careful about big brushes because one doesn't necessarily apply to the other. Your punk rock progressive Christian church is a far cry from Westboro.

[Bear Creek]

54. Not a broad brush

Almost every church in the county is like that. I have over the years have been exposed to every denomination. I am surrounded by these supposedly christian people at work. They use the bible for justification for every deplorable thing that they do. They use willful ignorance. They are a victim that way either it is god or satan never their responsibility.

[ProgressIsLeft]

56. No, not every church in the country is like that...c'mon now

Are you really going to tell us that inner city African American churches are just like southern baptist churches in Mississippi?
You know better.

[Bear Creek]

59. You know better

The reality is that in rual america this is what there is. There has been years of programming done. Talking to them does not work. They think legitamate news is fake. They disregard facts. Unitarian Churches are not here. The rual white evanglical trump supporter would not go to a black church.

[ProgressIsLeft]

61. You're painting a very narrow path

you are aware of this, correct?
Not all of us in rural areas are like this & I would say this is a stereotype along the lines of "those on welfare are very lazy". It's basically the same exact train of thought at play here.

There are conspiracy nuts on both sides of the aisle, let us not forget that please.

Actually Unitarian Churches are starting to make in roads into rural America. Pretty neat to see!

As far as the "white evangelical trump supporter would not go to a black church" thing, you might be surprised. http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-37267152 That is kind of crazy but ya.

We need to stop alienating people otherwise we're completely doomed.

[Bear Creek]

70. You are using a very board brush

There are no unitarian churches here not that would do much since they are considered not true christians. Just because you find one outlier article does not make it so either. The only thing they understand is that the democrats make them dependent on the state. That white men are superior. Keep quite and out of sight. They voted out of their hate. The ones not tied to a church or political party did not see any difference between the candidates. In fact one person I met after the election stated quite clearly she thought they were both poopy heads and had sent out messages of both of them with poop on their heads. She works in the school system and said that no child left behind was bad and would not listen that it was a republican policy.
They voted and they are going to get woke up. The democrats have negelcted the economic stress that people are in. Obama did not pass one thing to undo the Bush administration "consumer protection bill" which destroyed our economy and Hillary voted for. There is an example of when the democrats should have obstructed a bill not voted for a bad one. Obama bailed out companies, he needed to bail out the american workers. American workers needed a way out of debt.
The democrats need to be left wing start defending economic equality and creating opportunies. The democrats have let the right control the coversation.

[MADem]

72. NO.

There are conspiracy nuts on both sides of the aisle, let us not forget that please.


THEY are not like US. They are hate-filled Islamophobes, racists, sexists, and corporate fascists.

You will not get away with "normalizing" them to me.

And sorry, Sunday is the most segregated day in America. STILL.

Anyone who voted for Trump is either a fool or a mendacious bigot. They need to be schooled, not coddled.

[uppityperson]

73. Here are a couple links showing some rural UU churches. They are around many places

http://www.uua.org/growth/small/182784.shtml
http://revscottwells.com/2011/01/07/a-word-about-rural-churches/

[Zorro]

69. Organized religion will be the death of us all

It is indeed the opiate of the masses.

That and professional sports.

[Bear Creek]

71. True

Just read a news article that said it was the same as opiates.
https://www.indy100.com/article/religion-brain-scan-drugs-effect-activity-god-belief-faith-7456416

[PotatoChip]

85. My very rural state is the 3rd least religious in the nation

Not all rural areas are religiously/culturally the same. Nor are all rural areas conservative. Until this year, Maine hadn't voted R for POTUS since 1988. Yet Trump got 1 Electoral Vote here. (We split EVs like Nebraska does).

[OldRedneck]

58. I, too, live in a rural area

If it were not for FEDERAL farm price supports and FEDERAL subsidies to crop insurance and diesel fuel, most of the farms here would go under, or, would be sold to conglomerates.

Yet, the same farmers who cash those price support and crop insurance checks and who put that subsidized diesel fuel in their $400,000 combines (purchased with USDA subsidized loans) rail against "socialism" and vote for Trump.

And did I mention that my neighbor farms 3,000 acres, which is zoned agricultural and, for that reason, he pays 1/8 the property taxes per acre that I pay for my property zoned residential. He just built a $1.2 million, 5,600 sq ft house . . . and it's zoned agricultural so he'll enjoy very low property taxes.

If there were no hypocrites, there'd be no Republican Party.

[Duppers]

100. "If there were no hypocrites, there'd be no Republican Party. "

A.fucking.men!!

They disgust me.

[mountain grammy]

68. I live in rural America too..

10,000 people in our entire county. Most of the folks I know who voted for trump wouldn't vote for their beloved Jesus if he ran as a Democrat, so there's that. Then, there's racism. it's buried, but it's there. It's not so much a hatred of non whites as a fear of the loss of the privilege of being the majority race. They were honestly fearful of a godless black president, but voted for this pervert of a man who, in no way, resembles the religious purity they demand.. go figure.
No, it's ignorance and religion, pure and simple, just like us country folk, pure and simple, except not all of us.

God, guns and get the gubment out of my Medicare!That's my neighbors. So guess they'll be fine with the GOP privatizing Medicare.

[progressoid]

80. Sounds a lot like where my parents live.

When I go home I can see the misplaced anger and resentment. I just want to shake them and say, "do you realize that the republican party that you love is the one screwing you!?"

My parents (life long Democrats) have put up with this for decades. I don't know how they do it. I can barely take more than a day or two up there.

[Squinch]

93. I am so frickin' sick of hearing how rural people are hurting. Plenty of urban people are hurting

too, in the same way and over the same issues of mechanization driving job loss, lack of health care, debt etc.

All those people who are hurting in the cities managed not to vote for someone who is going to make that hurt a thousand times worse.

I really couldn't give any more fucks about the pain of the rural person. If they didn't vote like imbeciles they wouldn't be hurting. So when they stop voting like imbeciles, I'll take their pain seriously.

They used up all my sympathy with their vote.

[ileus]

95. Well we gotta break a few eggs...

One day soon we're gonna start punishing them...if you're smart you'll leave the rural areas.

[Raven]

9. We are not going to win elections

painting with that kind of a broad brush.

[tecelote]

13. You.

You are the problem.

[LWolf]

20. Bullshit.

If you want to play the blame game, look in the mirror.

Some Democrats desperately need scapegoats so that they don't ever have to see themselves.

[Sam1]

27. I agree

[HughBeaumont]

60. They need to look in one also.

They've historically and presently blamed Democrats for the actions of white Republican businesspersons. Denying this is folly.

Democratic and progressive hatred is passed down from generation to generation. It has culminated in them voting for the most unqualified candidate of a major party in modern American History (and that includes Dubya).

[LWolf]

98. I

am a rural American.

I have never voted, in my 56 years, for a Republican of any race, businessperson or no. That's a fact. Put away your broad brush.

[2naSalit]

62. +1

[riderinthestorm]

99. +1 nt

[Kilgore]

30. You forgot the zombie apocalypse is also coming.

[SamKnause]

31. I live in rural America.

My heart belongs to Bernie.

I voted for Hillary.

I cried for 2 days when she lost.

I will accept no blame.

I was on the right side of history.

[barbtries]

36. are you not

in the tiny minority where you live? i don't blame you personally, it's all the other willfully ignorant bible thumpers that drive me apeshit.
and don't feel like the lone ranger, I live in NC.

[SamKnause]

39. My few friends voted for Hillary.

My niece voted for Hillary.

My brother-in-law and his son-in-law voted for Trump.

I live in the first of only 2 houses on my road.

I have no idea how my neighbors voted.

Our interactions have been very pleasant and there is never

any discussion of politics.

My county is very red and very religious.

[LWolf]

106. I live in a rural area.

I'm a tiny minority because I'm further left than most of the nation. I'd be a tiny minority in my state's beautiful big city, too.

That said, my rural region voted for Obama in '08. They are not all willfully ignorant bible thumpers.

[Bettie]

33. I don't think it is specifically rural amerikkuh

it is evangelicals who are more common in rural areas.

Evangelical Christianity is virulently anti-critical thinking, they tell you what you believe and who to vote for from the pulpit and the people who follow this have been conditioned from childhood to do as they are told. They vote Republican, no matter who is on the ticket because they believe that "god" has ordained the guy with the R after his name.

[Duppers]

102. Exactly.

I know too many of them.

Family members whom I can no longer tolerate because of their ignorance and insults.

[Wiseman32218]

107. I totally agree

and remember Trump promised "religious freedom" whatever the hell that means.

[barbtries]

34. ironically enough,

they will probably also suffer the most, at least in terms of modern standards of living.

[McKim]

37. Real Life Was Happening

Real life was happening for these people while some were having dinner with George Clooney.
As a person whose dad did not finish fifth grade and whose mom did not finish high school during the depression, I could see this coming a mile away. It made me so sad to watch this slow motion train wreck. I hope we can turn the democratic party into an institution that will serve people and communicate that to them. I do also blame the media. They made a god out of Trump and are continuing to do so. As my auntie used to say: "The people are tired of being trickled on".

[PaulRevere08]

38. The issue was the folks that stayed home. Only 31% of eligible voters went for Tdump and over

65,000,000 registered voters didn't even bother to show up at the polls. Lower turnout in Detroit and Milwaukee was key to Michigan and Wisconsin going to Trump. We can blame to rural voters all we want, they have been voting against their best interests for decades, but it was the <insert appropriate word here> of the Democratic base in many places that cost us. And I am stumped how to cut through that cynicism.

[jabbothedog]

91. You cut through it by telling those potential voters you know what you did wrong

and you're not going to do it again.

It wasn't that Hillary was a bad candidate, it's that 90% of her campaign was "I'm not Trump". Well, no shit you're not Trump. Why should I vote for you? You're not Trump? What else? Oh, right....you're not Trump. Well, neither is my cat. I should stand in line for 8 hours to vote for my cat? I'll stay home and watch TV instead.

You find a messenger who has a clear, concise center-left economic and social message.

[Wiseman32218]

108. You are right on

Hillary was unable to rally the black vote and Trump did better than Rmoney did with blacks. The minority and "base vote needed to turn out in larger numbers. The rural areas have been lost for decades.

[democrank]

40. If we dont even bother to reach out to rural America in any meaningful way

then we better not blame them for thinking we don`t give a damn.

You can`t expect people who don`t even have enough money to buy a new battery for their broken-down vehicle to walk 8 miles to the pre-election Democratic meeting where strangers from the city tell them they need to donate more.

Democratic leaders should follow the examples set by leaders at Standing Rock. They should go wherever needed across the country with a simple message, a commitment of purpose, a call to action, and, if needed, nonviolent resistance.

When I read here about how stupid these rural voters are, how we don`t need them, how we can win without them, how they`re all racists, I shake my head. These are ridiculous and uninformed claims about people we used to care about before we lost our way and began concentrating on fundraisers in LA.

I`ve asked before....go get to know the person cleaning your laundromat, the guy who works every Sunday at the run-down tire changing shop, the apple picker, the overnight clerk at your convenience store, the farm worker. Listen to what they have to say about who is on their side in Washington, D.C., and I guarantee (for those who haven`t done this), you`re going to learn something, and it won`t be how much Democrats or Republicans care about them.

[Bear Creek]

53. The answer

Is that they have blamed every misfortune on the democrats. They do not know history. They are going to have to experience first hand the policies that have put them in the place of poverty. They wore their Trump shirts while using their WIC and SNAP because it is someone else the republicans were talking about. The democrats need to stand together and obstruct every piece of legislation the republicans want. They need to twitter (media of all kinds)flood why the legislation is bad and how it is going to hurt. There will be no one they can blame. The republicans and their corporate cronies will be exposed. It will take strength and it will hurt but maybe just maybe it will break the spell they are under.

[Duppers]

103. +10

[liquid diamond]

48. You left out a "k" in amerikkuh.

To hell with trying to reach these people. They are a lost cause and wouldn't believe the sky was blue if fox news told them otherwise. If that offends rural DU posters, tough shit. Let us focus on winning over those who did not vote.

[ProgressIsLeft]

51. The ones who didn't vote are the ones you're say "tough shit" to

Just saying.
Think about that.

[El Mimbreno]

52. Don't tar us all with that brush!

My rural county voted strongly for Clinton and nearly all county positions went to Democrats. It's not where you live, it's who you are.

[Politicub]

63. I'm from rural America

And you couldn't pay me to return. People there don't want to listen. They long for a time that never was.

It's a race to the bottom to moderate positions to coddle them. It won't work.

The GOP will spend the next four years making their and everyone else's lives miserable. Misery leads to looking for a strongman as savior.

I don't think people realize that there was money - a huge amount - available to them during the early stages of the Great Recession. It was intended to be used to pay for retraining. A relative enrolled in a welding class at community college. But you see, he did this just to get the $5,000 for school and expenses. The problem was, he had no intention to learn something new.

He may be an anomaly. I'm sure others used retraining money as intended. I used this anecdote of my relative to show a mentality of wallowing in misery. It is pornography for so many rural people. It heightens their full release at church on Sunday.

[MineralMan]

66. Really? That sounds like exactly the way to ensure that

no Democrat ever lives in the White House again. We need to get those voters on our side, not push them away.

What you're suggesting simply makes no sense at all.

[2naSalit]

67. Gee, really appreciate the stereotyping and blaming there.

I am an educated (advanced degree) Democrat who voted a straight D ticket this election... and so did my friends and a bunch of my neighbors who are also educated and Democrats (we cover several square miles of ruralness together). And we all have guns for protection and subsistence hunting because the food in the stores costs too much and isn't of the best quality. Another reason we have guns, some have rifles in their vehicles is that there are lots of deer, elk and other animals who dash out on the pavement and get hit but not completely killed, what do you do, take out your pocket knife and end its misery with your Swiss Army Knife (assuming you might have one on you)? It's not a city consideration, I know, but it's a fact of life out here.

Maybe an honest and long look into the cosmic mirror would help you deal with your anger and frustration. I prefer to avoid the divide and conquer wave that is currently sweeping the nation and talk to people, even way the hell out here, about our political issues. I participate in our tiny community and strive to help the hardest opponents understand why I support particular policies. I actually interpret policy for many of them and make the info more palatable and helps them see why or why not a policy or cultural aspect is important. Sure I have to walk away from some conversations but I try and make some progress here and there.

[uppityperson]

74. How does broadbrush bigotry survive an alert?

I live rural America, in a very blue county.

[sarisataka]

76. Certain types of bigotry

Are accepted among people who oppose bigotry.

I would make a list that then this post would be hidden. Suffice to say it would not be a short list though many people would fit into more than one category.

[Vinca]

75. I hope they suffer the brunt of it. Maybe next time they'll learn about the issues and candidates.

[guillaumeb]

78. No, you are being simplistic not sarcastic.

Sarcastic would have been better.

What is missing here is any proof that "rural America" or any region of America is a monolith.

[haele]

79. More suburban America and corporate/cubicle wankers.

If it were just back roads KKK'ers and those who are easy marks for any religious huckster that sets up a tent at the county fair site, then Hillary Clinton would have easily won.
But no, the suburbans who were feeling the pain from the 2008 recession recovered, and their short memory, affronted vanity and greed is what allowed voter suppression and election tampering to tip the scale.

"Hey look, the Democrat cleaned the place up enough for us we can afford to Party again!"

After all, what did they have to loose?

Haele

[OnionPatch]

83. I suggest you reference a "Purple America" map.

There are Democrats and liberals living in rural areas and guess what else: There are Republicans here in the big cities!! In fact there is a big Trump fan right through the wall from me as I type this in my urban area office.

[McCamy Taylor]

89. No, their only fault was their's is the last vote reported.

They were hacked. That's how they have greater than 100% turn out in some areas. The hackers waited to see how many votes they needed to steal and they stole them from the people who report last.

Do not be divided, Democrats. This city vs. country is a GOP divide and conquer diversionary tactic.

[KamaAina]

92. Humboldt County, CA is about as rural as it gets.

And it voted Blue. As did Hawai'i County, HI (Big Island).

Meanwhile, Springfield, MO, third-largest city in the state, voted Orange.

[roamer65]

96. Trumpanzees deserve the blame.

They are in urban and rural areas.

[oberliner]

104. Trump and his cronies are the antithesis of rural American

They are millionaires and billionaires.

[RelativelyJones]

105. It is not right to trash citizens just because of the region they live in

Horrible right-wing politics are more popular in rural areas, but a third of people there still voted Dem. That's a lot of people. I give them a ton of credit because they are surrounded by people completely hostile to their views. And a third of urban voters went for Trump, which is also a lot of people.

The only hope is motivating people who did not vote (and the shittiness of Trump should be damn motivating). Forget about flipping Trump voters. A complete waste of time.